STRATHAM — It's hard to ignore the three horses trotting around the fenced-in field in front of the SPCA, but it's harder to ignore the reasons they're there.

Jack, Freedom, and a mini-horse named Coco are just three of 15 horses the SPCA is currently taking care of, and many of those horses are there in protective custody from cruelty and abuse cases.

“Just a few years ago, the average number of horses on the property was between two and three,” said Sheila Ryan, director of development and marketing at the SPCA. “Every horse is coming in here severely diminished.”

The shelter took possession of Jack, Freedom, and Coco in early March after their New Durham owner was arrested in a child abuse case. Two of the horses have been surrendered to the SPCA and Ryan said they are waiting to hear whether the third will be surrendered as well.

Situations like this one have led to a bit of a space issue at the shelter, but also a funding gap as caring for these large animals can be quite costly — especially when they arrive at the SPCA sickly and underweight.

Two horses, Trixie and Missy, arrived in September 2012 and were nearly 500 pounds underweight.

“Rehabilitation can take months,” Ryan said. “It's a very expensive process.”

Coco, the mini-horse, has been diagnosed with a disease called Cushings, which affects the horse's ability to shed. Medication to treat this incurable disease costs the SPCA about $130 per month, according to Farm Animal Care Coordinator Suzanne Bryant.

But aside from rehabilitation and the costs arising from health issues, the horses also demand quite a bit of time for basic needs.

Bryant stressed they try to get the horses into foster situations, and there are several horses being kept off-site at foster barns. The SPCA continues to cover the medical care and treatment but it frees up space at the shelter.

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John Huff/Staff photographer
Farm Animal Care Coordinator Suzanne Bryant works with Dell, a horse that was brought to the New Hampshire SPCA in Stratham from an anilmal cruelty case. The facility is currently looking for people to adopt some of the horses they have as they are over capacity.

“We reserve our space for cases of cruelty or neglect,” Ryan said, explaining the SPCA's policy due to cost is not to become a drop-off location for people who no longer can or want to own a horse or other animal.“Unfortunately, those cruelty cases have gone up, and they tend to come in multiples,” she said.

Bryant explained that the problem with cruelty cases is they tend to take a long time to sort out within the court system, and if the animals are there in protective custody and haven't been surrendered to the shelter by the owner, they can't be put up for adoption.

Currently, seven of the 15 horses in the care of the SPCA are there in protective custody.

Ryan said there is currently more than $83,000 in court restitution from owners who have been ordered to pay for the care of their horses, but often don't or simply can't afford to make payments.

“We definitely need, with five times as many horses as we used to have, as many people as possible to help support the care of these animals,” Ryan said.

The SPCA has a special fund for donations called the SOS Fund, which was set up specifically for animals brought in by cruelty cases, and those funds raised go toward helping the horses.

Scarlett, who is almost two years old, is ready to be adopted. Scarlett was born at the SPCA to one of the horses that arrived from a cruelty case in 2010.However, Bryant said it's been difficult finding an adoptive home for Scarlett since she's still too young to be ridden. Similar situations are common with horses there that simply don't make desirable pets because they are older and past their riding years.Although a lengthy and expensive process, the horses at the SPCA that were brought in under weight and malnourished are doing visibly better.

Missy and Trixie trot happily around the yard, sometimes dropping down and rolling in the snow to cool off from the hot sun.

“Walking around is fabulous for them,” Bryant said. “In just a week's time their energy level perks up.”

Anyone looking to donate to the SOS fund to help these animals can make checks payable to the SPCA. More information can be found on their website at www.NHSPCA.org.